The BMW of computers, literally

BMW, a company known for stylish concept cars, just unveiled a concept computer.

The Thermaltake Gaming Tower combines high-end PC parts with a modern-art aesthetic. Its modular design comes from BMW DesignworksUSA, which has put its stamp on lavish yachts, trains, and aircraft. Each PC component comes in its own case and locks in perpendicularly to the vertical chassis.

No word on specs, or price, or availability. Really, this premier was more of a gallery opening than a product announcement.

As video-games’ graphics improve, the PC parts needed to run them grow more and more absurd. Top-notch graphics cards now cost hundreds of dollars. Then add an expensive processor. Then add RAM. Et cetera.

To help justify the multi-thousand dollar machines that are needed for high-end gaming, some computer-makers and industrious gamers seal their rigs in remarkably elaborate cases. These include airbrushed eagle paintings, pulsating lights, frames shaped like alien heads, and illuminated fans and coolant tubes.

This culture of embellished hardware and the games they play inspired BMW's venture into computers. "The design team [was influenced] right from the computer worlds themselves – expressiveness, virtual townscapes, and futuristic game components served as orientation for the arrangement and the look of individual components," says the announcement. "The asymmetric arrangement of the robust vertical heatsink and the horizontally located individual components creates a strong architectural statement, clearly revealing the powerful cooling characteristics of the Thermaltake Gaming Tower."

So, readers, what do you think? Does this BMW PC belong on your desk – or in a gallery?